Analysis on clinical character of painful ophthalmoplegia

OBJECTIVE To improve the diagnosis and treatment of painful ophthalmoplegia syndrome. METHODS Forty cases with painful ophthalmoplegia syndrome diagnosed clinically were collected and their modes of onset,the involvement of the cranial nerves and the results of the special examinations were analysed. RESULTS The main manifestations were syndrome of multiple cranial nerves impairment for this group of patients. Cerebrospinal fluid and neural imaging examinations might be abnormal. CONCLUSIONS Differential diagnosis must be done for the patients with headache or single ophthalmoplegia. Building up correct diagnostic course is the key to reduce an erroneous or losable diagnosis.